Lunar wolves: The chase (Book 2) - Complete

Chapter 8 - Wendy goes too far ...

Melissa

Of course, I had to break my ankle when I was sneaking around! It couldn’t happen to anyone else in my family… nooo… they all heal before anyone would notice!! I sat waiting for some sort of special boot from the moon. They wanted to put my foot in, so I didn’t move it.

Now I was not going to be allowed to go anywhere!! I just knew it! Frank would be faffing like crazy.

“Melissa! Are you okay, my love?” And there it started.

“Yes, I’m fine, I’m just waiting for some magical boot from the moon that will apparently heal my foot.” The girls burst out laughing and I glared at them.

“What’s so funny?! Your mother’s hurt!” Frank was furious.

“It’s called a moon boot, and it doesn’t come from the moon mom, it’s not magical. It’s just easier to use than the old cast they used to put your foot in,” Glinda explained, laughing at me and earning all three of them a zipped lip gesture!!

At least now that I didn’t have to concentrate on hiding muddy clothes, I could focus on pain control. A nurse finally arrived with this moon boot and I nearly died! It was enormous! Unfashionable and just plain ugly!

“Ma’am, it’s this or a cast.” The nurse looked impatient.

“Ugh! Fine, at least with this I can take a shower?” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes ma’am, a short one without putting weight on this foot. But it is preferred you take a bath, so there is no chance of possibly putting weight on the foot,” she explained.

“Okay, can I please leave now?” I sighed deeply.

“Not yet ma’am, the doctor still has to write your script and sign your release papers. You are lucky that the break isn’t one that required an operation.” The nurse sounded impatient, and I felt bad for being such a brat, but I wanted to get back home to do my own pain management.

“UGH!!” I shouted.

“Now, Melissa, calm down. You were the one sneaking around in the dark without your guard. You can’t take out your frustrations on the poor nurse.” Frank tried to defuse the situation as I watched the nurse leave.

“You were sneaking around?!” Circe glared at me.

“Without a guard to protect you?!” Glinda joined in.

“Breaking the rules??!!!!” Tabatha sounded more amused than angry.

Frank

I. Should. Not. Have. Said. That. I knew it the moment the words left my mouth. All three girls started talking at once, reprimanding their mother, and I got the look from Melissa warning me that I was going to get an ear full for revealing her secret.

Thankfully, the nurse arrived with a packet of pills and a document to sign … and a set of crutches. Melissa rolled her eyes as soon as a wheelchair arrived. By now I was the one wishing we could get home already… Melissa wanted to protest against the wheelchair, but as soon as she stepped on the foot, she immediately took my arm and climbed in without further protests.

Helping her into the SUV, I could see she was in terrible pain even with her spell. When we got home, I picked her up out of the car and carried her bridal style into the house, up the stairs, and to our bedroom. The girls stopped bugging her, seeing her in such pain.

They got her medication and water and brought it upstairs for her. None of us could handle our family glue in such pain.

“Mom, is there anything we can do to make it better for you? Can we call the coven?” Circe frowned.

“No, my darling, we all have to save our energy. I was an i***t, hurting myself now of all times! I’m sorry if I took it out on all of you. I’m angry at myself. This is the last thing we need right now,” Melissa apologized.

“Mommy, you rest. We will take care of you. I’m sure they won’t dare attack us.” Glinda sounded far too confident. The girls looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. None of us believed it, of course, but for now, we were trying to stay positive for Melissa’s sake.

She was magical, and her injury wouldn’t take that long to heal, even if she wasn’t a wolf.

“Come girls, let’s give your mother a chance to rest. She must be tired.” Shoeing them out of the room while they tried to protest.

“Dad, what if she was injured and couldn’t get back home? Out of all of us, she should be the one who has the most protection,” Circe protested.

“Ha! You try telling your mother that. No, my girl. You all have to make peace with the fact that your mother is an adult and will do what she thinks is right. Not what you lot think is best for her. I suggest you listen to her or have you forgotten how things go when we don’t, huh?” That sure puts them in their places.

“Yeah, I don’t want to be the witch’s council, especially now that she is hurt.” Tabatha laughed and I rolled my eyes.

“What are you all talking about? You were all just fussing about mom, and now you have changed your points of view?! Mom broke her ankle… how is she going to fight?” Glinda frowned at her sisters.

“Sweetheart, your mom has… talents you haven’t seen. We were all just getting her to rest. But believe me when I tell you that this was just the kind of thing to make her angry enough to take out half of the council.” For once, I let my fears shine through. Melissa was one hell of a force to be reckoned with.

“Mom?! No… I don’t believe you… Mom won’t hurt a fly… besides, she is just a witch, she isn’t a wolf.” Glinda waved it off and closed her bedroom door. Oh, my darling girl, you still have so much to learn about life and your mother especially.

Radagast

She accepted the appointment without thinking about how it would make me look after I told her not to!! My mistress is a council member! Becoming a member without undergoing training… It’s unheard of! Slamming my room doors when I walked in, I grabbed the crystal bottle filled with golden liquid, poured myself a drink.

I swallow the entire contents in one gulp. Letting the hot fluid warm me from inside. Pouring myself another, I shot it down my throat just as fast, slamming the glass down on the counter. She lied to me! All this wanting it to be perfect and the private discussions with the Councillor.

It was all so she could convince them to make her a member. I was sure of it. Now she was taking over my protection arrangements. Was she trying to make me look incompetent? Or maybe she was trying to make me look weak?!

I wanted all of them for their energy! I didn’t need her taking over everything! When I have her other sisters, she will join them in the dungeons for this betrayal!

Willow

I could feel his anger directed at me looking down from his terrace into the forest searching for me. I knew that the decision by the council had made him furious, but how was I supposed to refuse them? He, of all people, should be happy for me… no proud of me!

I decided to put his petty irritations aside and concentrate on the task at hand. We moved through the forest finding strategic places for the different soldiers and deciding who would work which shifts. I explained the workings of the pack to them and what to look out for.

To make sure everything was in order, I checked the waterfall before returning home. This close to the pack, I could feel the magic radiating off my family. Taking in their energy, I felt something was wrong. What could be wrong?

Was one of them hurt? Who could be hurt? I needed to find out. A cold rush of adrenaline rushed through me, burning through my skin. What if it was mom? I couldn't care less about my sisters, but if it was my mother. I couldn’t think about that now.

If anyone was hurt, it would give us the advantage. Turning around, I walked back to the castle. I chose my side, and now I have to stick to it. Radagast loved me and they didn’t. I was never part of their little special group of dogs!

Only mom understood. Storming into the castle, one of the servants told me that Radagast was looking for me and I thanked them. Preferring to go to the kitchen to check on the food and the cleaner staff to check on the arrangements for the rooms.

I walked through the passages, knocking on some of the bedroom doors and when I got no response, I walked in to check that the room had been attended to. Beds were made, windows opened for fresh air, and closed where requested.

Bathrooms were sparkling at all times. Everything that would be expected of a household like this. On my way to his room, I walked into him in the passage. He grabbed me by my arm where it had now started turning purple.

“Oh sure, just go ahead and show everyone how you abuse a council member!” It slipped out without thinking and I saw the rage grow in his eyes.

“My mother was a council member too, and that didn’t stop my father from dumping her a$s in the dungeons when she misbehaved! These…” he waved at my bruises, “are just marks showing you are mine. MINE, do you hear me!” I cringed at the smell of the alcohol in his breath.

Things were really getting bad, and I was starting to wonder if I wanted to stay around, never mind allowing him near my sisters.

“Radagast, you better start pulling yourself together and fast, or you might just lose your place in the council. You are becoming a disgrace!!” I ripped my arm from his grip, turned on my heel, and walked away. He took two steps, catching up to me, gripping me around my waist.

“Don’t you dare tell me what I should and shouldn’t do! I took you from nothing and made you who you are!” He hissed, and I cringed away because of the smell.

“Oh, get over yourself!! You could have probably gotten away with that around Isobel! Not me! I made myself! I am a strong woman, I am because of me! Not you! Now go sleep it off like you always do while I run the household!” Fury burning in my eyes while my hands started icing over.

“If it’s a fight you want, I can give you one!” He took a fighting stance and tried calling lightning, but I froze the bolt, and it hit him on top of his head, knocking him out like a light. Okay, that wasn’t entirely the plan… shrugging my shoulders, I turned around and walked away… but he deserved it and I sure as hell was not going to make sure he got to bed this time.

When I walked into the dining room, I found Wendy giving a servant orders on a lunch order for two. Realizing my presence when the servant bowed to me, Wendy went silent.

“Oh, Councillor Willow… I was just arranging lunch for me and one of the other trainees.” She smiled sweetly, but I knew it was fake. I stepped closer, smiling.

“No mistress, you asked for it to be for Master Radagast… I remember because you asked for his favourite food.” The servant nervously looked from Wendy to me. Wendy gave the servant a look that would have killed him if she possessed the right training.

“No, you must have misunderstood. Willow what kind of establishment are you running that your staff can’t even get a simple instructions, right?!” Wendy smiled nervously.

“You are dismissed.” I smiled at the servant, giving him a thankful nod and he disappeared quickly. “Councillor Willow, to you Wendy, and I believe what my servants tell me.”

“WHAT?! This is ridiculous! Why on earth would I want a private lunch with the Master of the castle without discussing it with you first?” Wendy tried to play innocent, but I saw right through her.

“Oh, I don’t know why would you? Why are you arranging anything in this castle when I am the mistress and everything should be arranged with me?” I raised one perfectly scaped brow. She blushed bright red having been caught out in another of her devious plans.

This little girl was always trying to get in somewhere and me receiving a pin without training had now probably made her think that Radagast was her way in. I didn’t care how horrible he was towards me. She wasn’t getting him.

“I suggest you return to your tutor, Wendy. You are on tonight’s shift, and I’m sure that if our weak point turns out to be you, the council would not look kindly on it. Who knows, you might even be banished!” Her anger burning up from her throat into her face. She huffed and left the dining room, turning left instead of right, which was the way she should be going.

I would have to keep my eye on that one. My next stop, in fact, was the library where the students were busy with their classes for tonight and, as expected, she was absent.

“Hi darling, you haven’t seen Wendy perhaps?” Olivia frowned the moment she saw me.

“Yes, I have, and I sent her here, just a couple of minutes ago.” I played innocent. I wasn’t lying. Not entirely.

“She couldn’t have gotten lost. She is one of the best students with the tracking spell. You seem upset, is it Wendy?” Olivia looked worried.

“How did you guess?” I sighed and Olivia looked around the room at the other girls who had gone silent.

“Oh, just a feeling. Come, I will help you find her. Time she is punished again.” Olivia sighed.

“Again?” I was surprised.

“Oh, you have no idea… let’s go find her.”